the memory of green

by Richard Murray

Once, a boy dropped a seed from the mountain top of the fifth mountain, letting nature decide the way of it; it lived as he did for a long time, but when his ba flew away, it remained on the earthly plane; many an equinox and solstice passed as it lay in the valley between the mountains. The old tree seemed unconcerned with the world of humanity, as it at best swayed and ruffled itself in the wind; then one day it was touched by a small boy. The boy spoke his name to the tree. The tree thought of the boy’s forebear, and wanted to hug the boy and tell him stories of his beloved forebear. But, the boy did not know how to speak to the tree, though all he needed to do was open his heart wide enough. Days went by and the boy would tell the tree his troubles: bullies, misunderstandings by adults, a girl he wishes would be his friend. The tree seemed unmoved but listened attentively, working to help the boy.

One day, the tree felt the boy running; the bullies were coming behind him. With nowhere to turn, the boy, frightened, tripped on the tree, and the nuts of the tree fell down to the ground. The bullies charged forward careful to not slip on the nuts, but the squirrels who appeared tripped them up instead and they fell down hard. The boy , in his kindness, asked them if they were alright. The bullies from that day forward respected the boy.

Another day, the boy was playing outside in the cold and his parents did not understand why he would shake his fingers all the time; they considered healers of the mind, and even forcing the boy into clubs he showed no interest in; they did not understand what interested him. Following their son to throw snowballs, the parents saw their child next to the tree, tapping its frozen branches. The rhyming tingles resonated all across the valley between the mountains. The boy’s parents realized their son loved to make music with nature, and with sticks, and stones, made their own percussions to accompany his.

Another day, the boy wished to entertain happily a specific girl; she always looked to the sky, and frowned at any type of skies or heavens. The boy wondered what the girl looked for; he flew a kite in the park and she did not move; he blew bubbles and she turned away. Then the girl walked looking to the heavens next to the tree, while the boy sat under it. Then, the girl heard the cheeps of baby birds in the nest in the tree, and her face glowed. The boy wondered what to do to get the birds down. But, before he could act, the momma bird flew down to his feet and picked up a worm for her chicks. The girl then noticed the boy and smiled, for the first time.

And, the boy forever remembered the help of the tree, and told the stories of his forebear and himself and their friend.

The tree, was happy to help the boy who aided him to the home he loves, and his forebears whose spirit is like his. And, the tree would continue to help that family line, till one day, it had only a seed of itself, and a girl picked it up.

By Richard Murray